It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.

It doesn’t interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon. I want to know if you have touched the centre of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life’s betrayals or have become shrivelled and closed from fear of further pain.

I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it, or fade it, or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own; if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, be realistic, remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me is true. I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself. If you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul. If you can be faithless and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see Beauty even when it is not pretty every day. And if you can source your own life from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand at the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, ‘Yes.’

It doesn’t interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up after the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone and do what needs to be done to feed the children.

It doesn’t interest me who you know or how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the centre of the fire with me and not shrink back.

It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.

Sometimes we can be so startled by the magnitude of a change which has happened during a healing that we look back rather than forward. Often it is hard to believe that a goal, long sought, is accomplished. Changes such as the loss of something unwanted, such as an emotion, or a connection to something, or positive change in health do happen. It can be hard to believe.

Sometimes our brilliant analytic mind, in trying to understand how this change happened, attempts to trace events. This looking back can undo a lot of good. In some cases, look toward what you want, not what you don’t want is best. I don’t mean neglect reality. Continue appropriate treatment. But, be brave in facing the unknown which is your new reality with the changes that have been made. It is like a child clinging to an abusive parent because it is all they know. We run a risk of become what I call, “united in our woundedness”. Run or tiptoe bravely toward what is next.

Following any deep spiritual work one can feel overwhelmed by the remaining energy of what has passed. Many, many years ago I learned this technique and still use it today. I’m sorry I don’t remember exactly who taught it to me. I hope it can help you.

It can be done in any physical position but I will describe is as though you are standing.

Begin by imagining you are in a small egg shaped bubble of energy.

Imagine unzipping this bubble below your feet.

Imagine your fingers extending out a couple feet and being covered with feathers, as though your arms where a bird’s wings.

Starting above your head, use these wings to sweep any negative energy off you.

Slowly move down your body on all sides, even lifting your feet to get anything unwanted under them.

Imagine this negative energy being carried out through that unzipped part of the bubble.

Then, imagine zipping the bubble up so that only positive and neutral energy is left in the bubble.

If you are not able to lift your feet or if you must do this seated or laying down just imagine your “wings” extending into the ground, chair, or bed.

I urge you to try this. It works. After a few times using this technique, you way start to be aware of a thick, sticky substance that is removed. It always leaves me feeling calmer and lighter. Good luck!

I’m having a meeting this Thursday night at my house at 7:00 p.m. to hear what people want. I announced it on my meetup: Santa Cruz Shaman meetup. If you invited. If you prefer, you can email me at: lindanadeau33@gmail.com

Christmas means a good dog pile. When my kids were little we would get up early on Christmas morning, open gifts, drink cocoa, eat croissants with raspberry freezer jam then lay around enjoying each other with looks of contentment on our faces. I have always thought of these special times as dog piles. I think we looked like a pile of puppies with full bellies laying across each other on the sofa half asleep. My kids are grown now but happily time with them still feels much the same. My wish for you is that you have many such special times with your family and friends.

My thoughts turn to others less fortunate and I am reminded of a time many years ago when I was reminded of the need for compassion for others. One evening I turned on the television and began to flick the remote control to move through the channels. I came across the image of a woman just as she said that her boyfriend asked her to give him her five-year-old daughter for sex in exchange for drugs and that she had done so.

Repulsed, I swiftly moved to another channel. But, it was too late. The assault to my senses was intense. My inner voice shouting at me, “She is you and you are her. You must love her.” This was in stark contrast to my mind which was saying “how could she, she is the lowest of the low, and why put such a horrible person on television?” My safe little cocoon was assaulted.

I felt the opportunity for a big lesson, as usual, suddenly and unexpectedly. Reluctantly I turned back to that channel and saw what a truly pathetic person she was. I would estimate her age at 35 but she looked 50. As she spoke, the effects of her self-confessed drug use, criminal past, and bad relationships began to explain how this incident had occurred. Her description of the Hell she had been through was a profound and, possibly, life changing for some of us in the audience.

And I was asked to open my heart to her. This was not an easy task as I had seen the lives of loved ones devastated by such acts. In an act of faith in my unseen teacher, I followed instruction. I began to open myself to a greater self, the part of me which remembers how it feels to be a tiny grain of sand in a beautiful and shimmering universe. This part of me feels no edges between places, things, and beings. It feels joy at being alive and part of all things. From this place of unity I could truly love this person, see that we were much more alike than different, and that, yes, we were each other. I could offer her love and support as she worked to forgive herself and make a positive difference in this world. I could see that given different circumstances I could have been her. Now I was observer. In the past, present, and future I was, had been or would be both victim and perpetrator. I too needed forgiveness, compassion and support. As I offered these to this nameless woman I received them. I was changed by this moment and was reminded why it is better to give than receive. Please join me in praying for love and compassion for all, for good health, the joy of having loved ones near, and for our loved ones near and far.